Michael studied briefly at OCA, then got a Canada Council grant for an experimental animation film using a new technology: the colour photocopier. In 1980, while living off poster design, he was approached by some very hairy men to design the board game Trivial Pursuit in exchange for shares. Though he needed the cash, he reluctantly agreed. Years passed at InterMegaOmnivor Corp., he became Sr. VP Creative Group Head at V & B. He created famous campaigns for Bank of Montreal, Nescafe, Ford Mercury dealers, Molson, Labatt and KFC. Recognition followed: Cannes, the Bessies, CA, CLIOS, Marketing, A&D Club of Canada. In 1993 he was #1 Art Director for 'The Bessies All Stars', for god's sake!

In 1996 Michael co-founded Garneau Würstlin Philp, Brand Engineering, creating the ING Direct brand, the Grocery Gateway brand, launching Expedia.com in Canada, refurbishing the Delta Hotels brand, Buckley's, Rogers... After six years, he sold his shares, published a book, and had a second child. He speaks English, German and Serbian. He mumbles in Italian. His French is appalling.

Trevor has over 25 years of experience in marketing and communications. Prior to co-founding WÜRSTLINGROUP, Trevor established portofino studios which he ran successfully for 10 years. Other related experience includes President of Harrod & Mirlin (for the first four years including when the agency was named Marketing's Agency of the Year), President of Savage Sloan Design (where he doubled the client base), Senior VP at McCann-Erickson (responsible for Labatt, RJR-MacDonald, Coca-Cola) and Director of Marketing at IKEA Canada (including site selection and expansion planning).
His brand experience includes:

Coca-Cola, Levi's, Black's, Kraft, Labatt, Suzuki, the NBA, Bell Globemedia, CIBC, Unilever, Neilson Dairy, Snapple, Harvey's, Swiss Chalet, Wendy's, Tim Hortons, Molson, Moosehead, Nabob, Jacob Suchard, Cotton Ginny, National Car Rental, Casino Niagara, Canada Bread, EDS, ATI, Abbott Laboratories, IKEA, amongst numerous others.

Trevor is a piece of work. In progress.

Colin became an account planner at Saatchi & Saatchi in London, England, the country where they invented planning. Having done a paper on The Role of Consciousness in Memory at Oxford, he developed all kinds of clever ways for Marketing to use Psychology: introducing the Brand Onion positioning tool, developing workshops on Psychology in Advertising, developing a brand positioning
for Glenfiddich to run globally, and is developing a way of applying the psychology of interpersonal relationships to our understanding of brand relationships. He also worked at fabled agency Collett Dickenson Pearce during its heyday.

He moved his family to Canada in 1998  after working on Air Canada. He was responsible for planning all ads outside of North America. His work has won IPA Advertising Effectiveness awards for Nissan cars and Nescafe Gold blend coffees (that's the campaign with the serial love story — an early example of 'branded content'). Until recently, he was Head of Account Planning at BBDO working on DaimlerChrysler, FedEx, RBC, Campbell's, and Ontario Tourism. He still consults with them on occasion. He has a regular column in the National Post, and plays bass with a jazz band in small venues around Toronto. An articulate Englishman with rhythm.

How sexy.

Being an Account Director is a job that requires complete level-headedness, a quality Rob honed while working in various product categories including Package Goods, Technology, Wireless, Automobiles, Broadcast, Retail, QSR, and Government. He's worked at various advertising agencies, like Y&R, DDB, Publicis, Enterprise and throughout that time, Rob's never had a bad experience. Seriously. We asked him. He has a special interest in new media and social media. He's played guitar for over 20 years, is active in hockey, tennis and golf. In other words, a perfectly well-rounded man. Except that he parts his hair just slightly off centre.

Yes, everything is going digital, but we keep printing more than ever before. And unlike the electronic media, printed stuff sticks around so if you make a mistake, well, it sticks around. Which is why you need someone like Kathleen Lang in charge of your print production. She's worked for over 20 years in advertising and design, and she's only made three mistakes in all that time. Well, something like that. She's worked as Print Production Manager at portofino studios since its founding, and now oversees WÜRSTLINGROUP print. Prior to that, she worked as a production designer at Strategies International and Savage Sloan Design. Her experience includes: Tim Hortons, Labatt, Levi's, Abbott Labs, Kraft, George Brown College, Coca-Cola, TD Bank, Shell Canada, Purolator, Snapple, Casino Niagara, the NBA, and National Car Rental. Kathleen's also the one we turn to when we can't figure out why this %$#@%%% Word document (or Powerpoint or any other one of those over-complicated but essential tools) isn't working. She just has a way with The Details that allow us to make Generalizations that can actually be executed.

Giselle graduated from Sheridan College, with honours. Then she got a diploma from Humber. With honours. You get the idea. Although she's new to the working world of design and art direction, she's already created a strong body of work for her own clients ranging from hair salons to musicians. She's designed a cookbook and a brand identity for a yoga studio. Her work has been recognized by Communication Arts, and her work for St. Michael's Young Leaders charity dodgeball tournament was a big hit with ball-dodging aficionados. International recognition and local popularity. What an honour to have her with us.

Inna was born and raised in the former USSR. She's lived and worked in six countries and travelled to 32, speaking three languages and faking it in two others.

Inna's lived a few lives. In the 90's, she taught computer graphics to aging ad creatives. During her stint as a strategic planner, Inna created brand strategies for Purina Brands and Home Outfitters. As an art director, she helped an agency win the Microsoft and CIBC accounts. A few years later, she went to lead a Saatchi & Saatchi office in Kyiv, Ukraine. There she helped Olena Franchuk, the Ukrainian President's daughter launch Ukraine's first national anti-AIDS Foundation. The creative campaign was embraced by the Clintons and lauded in the UN. As a checkers prodigy at six, Inna beat a congregation of elders in a checkers marathon in Meknes, Morocco. She's been published on and off-line and won a short story competition in England. Other clients in Inna's portfolio include SC Johnson brands, Quaker Oats, Gatorade, Kraft, Fidelity Investments and Fido. Aside from her duties at Würstlingroup, Inna is currently raising two young children. Just to keep busy.

We need Anne to make things happen. Really need her. Anne is a TV commercial producer and runs Howling Dog, her production company. A couple of years ago she was producer on the largest single commercial shoot in Toronto for Subaru Japan, starring Bruce Willis. She's worked on $2M budgets for beer guys and $5K budgets for prime ministers. She's shot in the Virgin Islands, London, France, Denmark, Germany, Italy, and Hong Kong. (She once assembled and managed a crew to shoot in eight countries for 11 weeks.) She's proud of the fact that she's often worked in locations where most others are denied permission. She's negotiated talent contracts for Rush, Bryan Adams and Queensrÿche (she's good with animals and birds, too). But she also developed the outfits for the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders for ABC Monday Night Football as well as the look for the boxers and ring scenes for HBO's Boxing After Dark. And she orchestrates shows seamlessly — with Anne's help, the 120-strong Dofasco Choir broadcast their choral pageant — live. Oh, and she staged and ran a live fashion show — outdoors — for Vogue, makers of fine lingerie.

We need Anne.

Rick started 'getting digital' with Mike's Hard Lemonade. Rick created truly integrated marketing for the brand including Mike's first-ever website. Rick went on, in various settings including at his own online consultancy, to create powerful events online: he developed the Rice Krispies' parody ad "A Wholesome Threesome" that became one of the most viral emails in the world during the late 90's. Rick helped re-engineer Beer.com by creating the "Virtual Bartender" which attracted over 10 million visits in just 28 days, spawned thousands of 'Fan Forums' and placed Beer.com among the Top 10 most popular websites in the world, all from just 10 emails used to kick it off. Then he created a Beer.com podcast that placed it in the Top10 on iTunes in more than 10 countries. Rick took the helm as Beer.com's Editor-in-Chief in 2006.

He's worked on the development of websites and interactive applications for all Labatt (now InBev) beer brands around the globe. But, Rick is not only about beer, he's created interactive sites and applications for Kellogg's, ParticipACTION, BlackBerry, Smirnoff, E*Trade, GMAC and Kraft Canada. Still, Rick remains a big fan of German barmaids. Which is why we like Rick. Ja.

Ann is the perfect person to talk to if you're English and want to understand Quebec. Born in Quebec City to Irish and French Canadian parents, Ann has acquired an in-depth insight of both cultures. Her knowledge and experience in the promotional and advertising field, and specifically in adaptations for the Quebec market over the last 18 years, make her a unique resource for National Advertisers. With her incredibly talented creative team, she'll ensure continuity and synergy with the French connection. Her clients have included Levi's, Coca-Cola, SAQ, The Bay, Sun Rype, Telus, Suzuki, National Car Rental, Caboodles Cosmetics, Bell Mobility, Labatt, Stroh's, Moosehead, Nike, Monsieur Muffler, Breuvages Cadbury, A&W, Nabob, Boeing, Volvo, Panasonic, Best Foods, Lufthansa, CIBC, Quaker, Purolator, Mead Johnson, Evian, Keri, Cirque du Soleil, Esso, Vachon, Montreal Expos, and Montreal Canadiens. To prove her linguistic agility, she once worked as an assistant producer for Nippon Television on a TV show in Japan similar to That's Incredible. Ja.

Entertainment and Marketing have always been distant cousins. Sandy helps our firm bring them closer together. He has a unique talent for working with "talent". He's been a senior executive in the entertainment and cultural industry with over 30 years of experience managing talent and producing creative work. As an agent/manager for Columbia Artists Management on New York's West 57th Street, the "Wall Street" of showbiz, Sandy has worked closely with a wide range of artists from Sting and James Taylor to Bobby McFerrin and David Byrne.

As the head of Columbia's 21st Century Culture division, he introduced France's equestrian spectacular Zingaro and England's percussion sensation STOMP to audiences around the world. As the Executive Producer and Director of Artistic Programming for both Toronto's Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall, he produced over 300 live events from Yo Yo Ma's Silk Road Project to the Massey Hall debuts of Jerry Seinfeld, Sting, and Prince. And as the Director of Entertainment for Canada's premiere casino resort, he made the stars shine at Fallsview. Now he's reinventing the museum-going experience for the new Daniel Libeskind-designed Royal Ontario Museum. Sandy knows how to put the "show" into your business.
(He made us say that.)

Edward is our Loyalty and Incentive Guru. He loves working with our clients to shape and influence the behaviours of their sales, channel and consumer relationships to drive the desired results. He has this strange passion for maximizing acquisition, engagement and then driving performance through targeted programs.

Edward has spent the last 21 years designing, implementing and evolving incentive and loyalty programs in the U.K., European, Canadian and U.S. markets. He spent 12 years with a global marketing services agency, working across multiple sectors including retail, financial services, technology, automotive and hospitality before starting his work with us. Edward's worked with many global brands, designing and implementing integrated strategies to drive behaviour, performance and revenues. More recently he's designed the strategy and implemented programs for clients such as Scotiabank, Aeroplan, HSBC, IBM, BlackBerry, Laura Secord and Huggies diapers (yes he still understands what it takes to change a diaper).

Thom's understanding of public spectacle is invaluable to us as marketers. Since his training at LaMama Theatre in NYC and schools in Paris in the 70's, Thom has produced, directed and created over 100 theatrical, operatic and multi-disciplinary works all over the world. He's a founding member of the Theatre Centre and Artistic Director and founder of Autumn Leaf Performance. His renowned staging within architectural spaces and natural environments include five operatic works of R. Murray Schafer, an opera in Belgium set in an abandoned barn, and then inside Toronto's Union Station at midnight, and a carnival-opera staged in a public park with over 50 acts and 150 performers. His own creations include ELECTRIC FLESH for Opéra de Lyon. In 2000, he produced an international tour of Vivier's KOPERNICUS. In 2003, he created KAFKA IN LOVE, a multi-media work staged inside the Hart House swimming pool with synchronized swimmers. Thom is Creative Director of Smart Culture, an 'idea realization' firm. He recently participated in Toronto's Nuit Blanche and did a huge project on Roosevelt Island in NYC.

Still, he likes a beer sometimes.

As sport grows in influence in marketing land, Keith keeps us connected to the real spirit of the athletes. In 1992, Keith founded K.Mac & Associates, a marketing resource group using sports as the playing field.
He and his team deliver unique ideas, an unparalleled network and superior execution. They've created measurable results for such clients as P&G, Pfizer, McNeil, Roots, Priszm, General Mills, GlaxoSmithKline, UPS, DaimlerChrysler, BauerNike Hockey, Bristol Myers, and Hostess Frito Lay. Over the years, Keith has worked with over 175 athletes and properties such as Major League Baseball, National Hockey League, National Football League, Canadian Football League and the Canadian Olympic Committee. K.Mac has consummated joint business alliances between numerous corporate clients. Previously, Keith worked with Bristol Myers in various sales positions and was National Marketing Director for Remy Canada managing brands such as Absolut Vodka, Beck's Beer and Remy Martin Cognac.
So he knows sports and booze. He's a good buddy.

Though we spend a lot of time creating ideas, we often need to get physical, which is when we turn to Scot. He's principal of his own Toronto-based design studio primarily designing furniture and products for the residential and contract markets. His clients include Lolah, Keilhauer, Nienkamper, Pure Design and Umbra. Scot's work has won numerous awards — including the ICFF 2002 Editors' Award for Best Furniture for Lolah's debut collection at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York City, and has been selected for ID Magazine's Annual Design Review. The Royal Ontario Museum and the Design Exchange have acquired his work for their permanent collections. Laughton taught at OCAD in Toronto and has conducted workshops at the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum in New York City and other venues throughout North America. In 2003, he was named Designer of the Year by the IDS, Canada. He's currently jetting back and forth between Canada and Hong Kong as he creates new objects to be coveted. He and his team are also currently working on a very exciting new project: a beautiful son.

Alex (on the left) and Susan are the women we turn to when we want to understand women. And, in particular, their ideas about fashion. After graduating from OCA, Alex worked at Toronto Life Fashion. She then went to London, England to be a designer at Elle and British GQ. Returning to Toronto in 1989, she became Art Director at Chatelaine. Following a stint at the G&G agency working on Club Monaco and Alfred Sung, she opened her own shop in 1993, providing clients with everything from fashion illustration to marketing.

Susan graduated from OCA and went on to do design work for C Magazine, Ontario Craft, and Steptext. She won numerous awards, but left the grant-writing world to join Alex for a life in fashion advertising. In 2003, she took a sabbatical to work on special projects at the New York Times magazine.

When they're not working directly for clients like Eaton's, the Bay, Sears, Macy's, Holt Renfrew, Escada, Birks, Misura and Winners, the girls like to do research by shopping abroad.